The NCAA men's basketball tournament is second only to the Super Bowl in scope and magnitude among this nation's sports.

College basketball overall, however, has been lacking.

While the NCAA tournament has grown, it has, at the same time, rendered the regular season meaningless to many fans, who view March Madness, and the betting pools it brings, as above the game itself.

There is also the desire of truly elite players to get to the NBA as quickly as possible.

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That has meant some of the greatest basketball players of all time - including LeBron James and Kobe Bryant - never played college basketball.

The rules have changed. High school players now must play at least a year of college basketball before being eligible for the NBA Draft. It's helped college basketball, but minimally. Now it's a year-and-done. Most vivid case in point: The last few versions of Kentucky's powerhouse.

It's why the story developing in the Big Ten this season is refreshing. The past two weeks in East Lansing, when Michigan and Indiana visited Michigan State, were epic. Regular season college basketball was definitely relevant those nights.

The Big Ten has also revealed two players, Indiana's Victor Olapido and Michigan's Trey Burke, who have defied the notion college basketball is driven by five-star recruits. They are the leading candidates for the various national college player of the year awards. Both were three-star recruits coming out of high school, each barely making the Top 150 their senior seasons, Oladipo in 2010, and Burke in 2011.

Burke, a 6-0, point guard, was brilliant as a freshman for Michigan last season, and did stay after flirting with the idea of entering the NBA Draft. He has been even better this season upon return. Despite the Wolverines' recent struggles, Burke has been outstanding He is a brilliant player, who has only improved his NBA Draft stock by remaining at Michigan.

Burke played for excellent high school program - Columbus (OH) Northland. He attended the same high school as former Ohio State star Jared Sullinger. The Buckeyes did not offer him a scholarship, though. His senior year in high school, Burke was rated just the 142nd player nationally by Rivals.com, and only the 26th best point guard.

Oladipo played at a big-time high school program - DeMatha in suburban Washington. D.C. He was rated only the 144th player in the nation, just 41st among shooting guards, his senior year.

Unlike Burke, Oladipo didn't star immediately at IU. He only started five games on a decidedly bad Indiana team that won just three Big Ten games when he was a freshman. Before this season, all the hype was about his teammate, Cody Zeller. Yet, it was impossible not to watch Oladipo's heroics down the stretch at MSU Tuesday and not come to the conclusion this is a truly great college player.

Oladipo is a testament to hard work and competitive character. Like Burke, his rank is more like 1-star these days. As in the best in the nation. They have both made college basketball much better.